Give a Gift
I so enjoyed hooking this pattern based on a David Galchutt painting. At first, I was intimidated by the sheer amount of detail, but I learned that hooking a pattern like this is like eating an elephant; you can do it if you take one bite at a time.
This piece was hooked entirely in wool—hand-dyed wool and vintage wool paisley. The section of this rug that was most challenging and that I love the most is the flames in the candles in Santa’s hat. I wanted to hook the effect of glowing candlelight and am quite happy with the way it turned out.
Since I knew this mat was going to be a wall hanging, as opposed to a piece that would be displayed on the floor, I chose to finish it by turning the unhooked backing underneath the piece and covering the raw edge with binding tape. My first teacher taught me to leave some space between the last row of hooking and the binding tape. The idea is that, by doing so, you’ve left some backing material for possible repairs in the future. I have since learned that many people try to attach the backing tape as close to the last row of hooking as possible. I’m not sure if one technique is superior to the other.
I used this pattern as a way to answer some questions I often get about my hooked rugs: “How long did it take you?” and “How many loops are in the rug?” Using the timer on my cell phone and a ruler, I measured that it took me 140 hours to hook the rug, which is made up of 84,500 loops!
From the Judges:
A complicated piece to hook—well done. The eye is drawn to Santa’s face, and the shading around it is marvelous.
Year the Reindeer Had Flu, 28” x 35”, #3-cut hand-dyed wool and vintage wool paisley on linen.
Designed by David Galchutt and hooked by Karen Cormier, Alexander, North Carolina, 2024.
Karen Cormier
ALEXANDER, NORTH CAROLINA
Karen began rug hooking in 2008. She had no idea what rug hooking even was when her mother invited her to attend an adult-education evening class. Upon seeing the rugs the teacher brought, Karen knew she “had to learn how to do that,” and she has been hooking rugs ever since. She has earned her McGown teacher certification, taught classes, delivered workshops, and has even begun doing hooked-rug repair. While she specializes in fine-cut shading, she appreciates all rug-hooking styles and enjoys learning new things at rug schools and rug camps. Her latest hooking adventure involves using technology in rug-pattern design.